Woman Charged With Prescription Fraud

A suspicious pharmacist, a few aliases and an apparent penchant for pills may well be a Centreville woman's undoing. On Feb. 22, Fairfax County police arrested her and charged her with obtaining drugs by fraud.

Five days later, they searched Kimberly Jackson's townhouse off Stone Road and Route 29 and discovered a mini-pharmacy. Police say Jackson, 32, of 14647 Seasons Drive, allegedly gave phony names to pharmacists so she could obtain drugs illegally.

In a Feb. 27 affidavit for a warrant to search her home, Det. J. Daryl Evans detailed the case against her. He said his investigation began Feb. 22, after police received a complaint about someone trying to obtain a controlled substance by fraud at the Yorktown Shopping Center CVS Pharmacy at 8124 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church.

He wrote that, on that date, a woman identifying herself as Diana Clemmons called that pharmacy. "The caller stated that she was from Dr. Errol Segall's office and requested that a prescription be filled for Lortab (Hydrocodone) for a patient by the name of Stephanie Tuttle," wrote Evans. "The caller also stated that the prescription would be filled on three consecutive days, as the patient was being weaned off of this drug."

However, the unusual request caused the pharmacist to be suspicious of the call. The pharmacy then called Segall's office and learned the doctor didn't have an employee named Diana Clemmons, nor a patient named Stephanie Tuttle. Police were then called to the CVS Pharmacy.

Evans wrote that, on Feb. 22, around 5 p.m., a woman later identified as Kimberly Jackson arrived at that pharmacy and allegedly picked up and paid for the Lortab prescription under the name of Stephanie Tuttle. But she was stopped by police officer Chantal Hatter as she tried to leave the store.

"Mrs. Jackson stated that she was there to pick up a prescription for herself, and that the prescription was for a drug similar to Valium," wrote Evans. "[She] also stated that the doctor [who] prescribed it was a doctor from Pennsylvania by the name of Dr. Steigle."

According to the detective, Jackson allegedly told police that the pharmacy must have mistakenly given her another person's prescription. He also noted that she reportedly had the Lortab prescription in the name, Stephanie Tuttle, in her possession.

Evans wrote that further investigation revealed that "Jackson had identified herself to two different pharmacists as Stephanie Tuttle in order to pick up the prescription. She was then charged with two counts of obtaining drugs by fraud.

Checking the Yorktown CVS Pharmacy's records, Evans said police learned that "on Jan. 24, 26, 31 and Feb. 6, 8, 13, 16 and 17, Jackson had obtained Hydrocodone using the doctor's name, Errol Segall." On Feb. 26, the detective contacted Segall and learned that Jackson had, in fact, been a patient of his in December 2001. Wrote Evans: "Dr. Segall stated that at no time did he prescribe Hodrocodone to Jackson."

Evans received the search warrant for Jackson's townhouse and executed it, Feb. 27. Items seized then by police included: Two empty Hydrocodone bottles and one containing 30 pills, a CVS Pharmacy receipt, a doctor's prescription pad, two bottle of Clonidine bottle — one with 25 pills and one with 30 pills, two bottles of Zoloft — one with 14 pills and one with 30 pills, plus two pharmacist notes. The Clonidine and Zoloft had been prescribed by two different doctors.

Police also seized a bag of suspected marijuana and a soda can with suspected marijuana residue. Jackson has an April 10 court date on the charges stemming from this prescription-fraud investigation. Court records also show some 10 other such cases against her still pending.